An Acidic Christmas to All
by EvilMuffinLord
Summary: On Christmas Eve of their second year at UA, Mina learns a surprising and adorable truth about her boyfriend


"What'cha writing Izuku?" Mina asked, dropping into the seat next to her boyfriend.

It was Christmas Eve, and most of the class was relaxing in the common room. Classes had wrapped up a few days before, but they were still recovering from the hellish exams their teachers had inflicted upon them. Last year's exams had been cakewalks in comparison, and Mina found herself actually missing the comparatively lax curriculum of their first year at UA.

"Oh! It's, uh, it's nothing!" Izuku said, hurriedly shutting his notebook.

That got her attention immediately. He wouldn't have bothered to hide schoolwork, and he would have been only too happy to share any hero analysis notes he was making. That meant it was either something he was embarrassed about, or something he was trying to keep away from her. This close to Christmas, that could only mean one thing.

He was working on a present for her, and Mina was now dead set on finding out what was in that notebook.

Christmas had always been one of her favorite holidays, but that didn't mean Mina had the patience to wait for it to arrive. She had always been the type to surreptitiously shake any presents addressed to her in order to find out what was inside. As she had gotten older, a mini arms race had developed between her and her parents as they tried to find new places to hide her gifts, and she tried to discover them.

"Really?" she said in a sing-song tone, "Guess you won't mind me looking at it, if it's nothing…"

Izuku paled slightly, and he quickly stuffed the notebook behind his back in a desperate attempt to protect its contents. Not that it would stop Mina.

She tried to reach behind him to grab the notebook, but he scooted backwards in response, forcing her to chase him down the couch. A moment later, and he was flush with the edge and had nowhere else to run.

"M-Mina, it- it's really nothing!" Izuku protested, shifting to avoid her reach, "Just some extra English notes!"

"Oh yeah?" she replied, a coy smile on her lips, "You know, I didn't do so well on our last English exam. Guess I need some extra study time. Or just a peek at your notes."

"G-Good idea!" Izuku said, leaping to his feet, "I'll just, uh, go grab them for you."

"Why? Didn't you just say you had them right there?"

Izuku froze for a second, caught in his own lie. Mina seized the opportunity to make another grab for the notebook. Unfortunately, she misjudged the distance slightly and only managed to knock the notebook out of Izuku's grasp.

It skidded across the common room floor, out of the reach of Izuku's desperate grab, finally coming to rest at Bakugou's feet.

The explosive blond glared at the notebook as if it had committed a grave sin by entering his personal space. Then, he reached down, grabbed it, and prepared to fling it back in Izuku's general direction, likely with a bit of extra explosive force included.

Before he could, however, some part of the notebook's contents caught his eye. He frowned, eyes dancing back and forth as he scanned for a moment, before promptly bursting into laughter.

"I cannot fucking believe that you're this lame. How do you still believe this shit?"

Izuku flushed at the words, and his posture slumped.

"Hey!" Mina cried, leaping to her boyfriend's defense, her previous present-chasing behavior completely forgotten, "Stop being a jerk, Bakugou. Izuku isn't lame!"

"Get off my case, Raccoon Eyes," Bakugou snapped, "Read it and weep. Your dumbass boyfriend still believes in Santa." With that, he tossed the notebook directly to her, gently enough that she didn't have to struggle to catch it.

The notebook was still open to the page Izuku had been working on. One side contained a list of activities, several of which Mina remembered Izuku doing in the past few months. On the other side was a column labeling each entry as either "naughty" or "nice". From what she could see, there were far more "nice" items on the list, which made the few "naughty" items stand out.

Most of the naughty items consisted of time he had thought poorly of someone, usually Bakugou. Mina had always known that Izuku was sweet as could be, but her heart went out once more to the boy who had labeled himself as naughty for thinking Bakugou had been a bit mean to their classmates.

What also caught here eye were a series of entries concerning her. Every few entries, there would be one labeled "Thought about Mina in class". These were all labeled as naughty in big, blocky letters, and underlined for extra emphasis. Mina frowned a bit at that, wonder what exactly she had done to make Izuku think poorly of her during class that often.

She glanced up to find that Izuku had somehow slumped even further, practically curling in on himself. His eyes were downcast, and his entire face was red with embarrassment.

Before Mina could say anything, Izuku's body crackled with electricity. He surged forward in a blur, grabbed the notebook out of her hands and disappeared up the stairs before she could even react, letting the door slam shut behind him.

Mina stared in surprise at the spot where Izuku had vanished, along with everyone else in the common room. Emotional outbursts weren't exactly a rarity for Izuku, they had all seen him burst into tears enough times to be used to it, but none of them had ever seen him react quite like that before.

Mina spared a moment to produce a glob of particularly viscous, minimally acidic goo that she flicked at Bakugou, before taking off after Izuku. She didn't get to see it lodge directly in his spiky hair, though she did hear his inarticulate scream of rage. The petty revenge brought a small smile to her face. That was what he got for messing with her boyfriend!

It took her several minutes to locate Izuku. He wasn't in his room, or any of the spots he usually hung out in. She had been on the verge of recruiting some of their classmates to form a search party when she had stumbled across him sitting on an isolated corner of the dorm roof, not even wearing a jacket despite the freezing cold.

He was kicking his feet idly over the edge as he stared into the night, notebook still clutched tightly to his chest. He looked up at her approach, and Mina could see that his eyes were red and slightly puffy, and his nose was running a bit from crying.

Her heart ached for him, and Mina wasted no time dropping down next to him and wrapping him in a tight hug.

"I'm… I'm sorry," Izuku said softly, once the embrace had calmed him down a little, "I know I'm lame, and-and weird, and—"

"Shhhh," Mina said, planting a soft kiss on his forehead, "None of that. You're not lame. I think it's sweet that you believe in Santa. Besides, Bakugou is a jerk for teasing you like that, and I don't care if I get put on the naughty list for saying it. He can go step on a bunch of LEGO bricks."

That wrung a chuckle from Izuku, which made Mina feel a little better in tandem. She hated seeing him like this. It was so at odds with the kind, confident young man she knew Izuku to be.

"Thank you," Izuku said gently, "for, um, not thinking I'm crazy."

"Of course," she replied, snuggling closer to him. She laid her head on his shoulder, mindful of poking him with her horns, and sighed in contentment as his arm came up to wrap around her shoulders. It was far too cold to be perfectly comfortable, but other than that Mina was in her favorite spot in the entire world.

"Like I said," she continued, "I think it's sweet. Besides, we know someone who can create any toys she wants just by thinking about it. Who's to say Santa isn't real, and just a distant relative of Yaomomo?"

Izuku's chuckle turned into a full blown laugh, and Mina joined him a moment later as they both pictured Yaoyorozu in a puffy red suit and white beard, handing out presents to the rest of the class.

After their mirth was done, they lapsed into an easy silence, simply enjoying each other's company. They rarely got the chance for a quiet moment like this when school was in session. their teachers kept them busy, and what little free time they used to have during their freshman year had long ago been eaten up by their internships.

Eventually, Mina broke the silence as something she had wanted to ask Izuku popped into her mind.

"Hey, Izuku, you don't have to tell me, but… when Bakugou threw me the notebook earlier, I saw a few entries in it about me. They said you were thinking about me in class. Do you mind telling me what I did?"

Izuku stiffened, then turned to look at her. His cheeks were cherry red, and his mouth opened and closed several times before any sound came out.

"T-that's not… I didn't… I mean, I did, but I just…" he trailed off, obviously unsure of how to continue.

"It's really okay if you don't want to tell me," Mina said. She would be disappointed, sure, but she would rather that than make him too uncomfortable.

"No, I…" he took a deep, calming breath before continuing, "S-sometimes in class, I can't help but remember how pretty you are, and then I… I kind of want to just kiss you."

Mina coughed in surprise. She wasn't sure exactly what she'd been expecting, but it definitely hadn't been that.

She had a hard time picturing him getting distracted by her in class. Whenever she surreptitiously shot a glance his way during class, he always seemed so studious and focused on the material that it made her try harder to focus as well.

The admission also seemed a little out of character for Izuku. When the two of them had started dating, it had taken her nearly two months to cajole him into kissing her, and even then it had just been a chaste peck on the lips. He had gotten quite a bit more comfortable with physical intimacy since then, but he was still firmly on the chaste side when compared to other boys his age. The idea of him getting a bit hot and bothered over her was fascinating, and more than a little flattering.

"Izuku, you don't have to feel bad about that. We're dating. You're allowed to fantasize. I even encourage it!" she said, giving him a wink.

He ducked his head in embarrassment, but brought it back up a moment later.

"Then, can I…" he gestured vaguely between them.

She smiled and leaned in, in lieu of an answer. A moment later Izuku did the same, pulling Mina close. He was warm, gentle, and so very loving, and when the lack of oxygen finally forced her to pull away, Mina did so reluctantly. She wished the kiss could last forever.

"I love you Mina," Izuku whispered, pressing his forehead against hers.

"I love you too."

Even Izuku's warmth couldn't entirely negate the cold, however, and Mina had to suppress a shiver a moment later. He, of course, noticed immediately.

"We should probably go back inside," Izuku said, rising to his feet.

Mina nodded, clambering slowly to her feet. They hadn't been sitting for that long, but the cold had had just enough time to stiffen her muscles.

They were just a few steps from the door back inside when something caught Mina's eye. She blinked, then rubbed her eyes in disbelief. Still, the fantastical sight in front of her refused to disappear. Quickly, she grabbed Izuku's arm and pointed out towards Mustafu's skyline.

There, above the buildings, a red streak was darting about in a seemingly random pattern. It moved far too quickly to be any sort of refuse or stray decoration blowing in the find, and far too erratically to be any sort of drone or electronic device. It was only when the streak slowed slightly that the pair of students could get a proper look at it.

It looked, for all intents, like an old fashioned red sleigh with a massive sack in the rear seat. A large figure in equally bright red clothing sat in the front seat. The figure was a blur themselves, reaching into the sack behind them and showering the buildings beneath them with boxes with superhuman speed.

Izuku and Mina glanced at each other, mouths agape and eyes as wide as saucers. When they turned back, however, the Mustafu sky was completely empty. Despite them only looking away for a second, the figure had vanished without a trace.

"Y-You don't think…" Izuku began, his tone even more awestruck than when All Might had once called him "An inspiration".

"N-No," Mina replied haltingly, "It was… probably just some villain with a flying quirk. Or maybe Hawks is on an errand in the city."

When they turned around, however, both of them stopped dead in their tracks. Resting just in front of the roof entrance was a small present. It was impeccably wrapped in green paper, with a neat bow on the top. A small tag proudly proclaimed the present was "To: A true believer, From: Santa"

When Izuku hesitated for a moment, Mina elbowed him in the side. "Izuku, if you don't open that present right now, I'm melting it open," she hissed.

Izuku obliged, carefully opening the wrapping paper at the seams and sliding the box out gently. Inside, a golden star rested on a bed of velvet. Despite the relatively dim light of the dorm roof, the star twinkled merrily, and Mina knew with absolute certainty that it wasn't just painted gold.

"Oh, that is so going on the Christmas tree!" Mina said, lifting the star from its box.

It was far heavier than it looked, and for a moment, she worried that she might drop the ornament. Before she could, however, Izuku placed his hands beneath her own.

"Race you downstairs?" he asked with a knowing smile.

"You're on!" she cried gleefully.

The two raced downstairs, arm in arm, laughing the entire time. It didn't matter that no one would ever believe what they had seen. They had seen it together, and that was enough.

And far above the city, a merry laugh could be heard echoing across the sky as the man in the red suit raced across the globe, bringing joy to as many children as he could manage.

* * *

Ah, it's good to write fluff again. Never fails to make me happy.

Thanks so much for reading. Your enjoyment means the world to me.

Thank you once again, and I hope you have an excellent and glutinous day!


End file.
